Published: Monday - November 19, 2007
Words by Allen Starbury
Duo Live (Photo: Redemption Music Group)
Bedstuy, Brooklyn pair, known as Duo Live, has been in the game for years, hustling in the streets... hard. In fact, they've hustled so hard, independently, they moved more than 215,000 units selling their CDs. That's not all, over the years, they have been lauded by music industry superstars like Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, and have garnered acclaim from publications like Billboard, The Source and Vibe, among others.
Now, after countless mixtapes and street CDs, they have finally dropped their first commercial release, The Color Of Money. With a hot single buzzing -- "Princess" featuring Fabolous -- they feel they are on their way to greatness. In this BallerStatus.com interview, rapper Fre and producer Sid enlighten us about their history, where they've been and where they are going. According to the duo, "it's redemption time," and they are gonna get it regardless.
BallerStatus.com: First off, give us a little introduction. Tell us about how you guys linked up, a little about your backgrounds and how you got into music.
Fre: Me and Sid, we go way back, all the way to '89. We went to a school in Brooklyn called Brooklyn Tech. We attended that school with cats like Talib Kweli... it was pretty poppin' when hip-hop was in its prime. We, basically, used to cut school and play in the lunch room -- playing spades or spit rhymes. Sid was the DJ and I was the MC and Talib Kweli was the MC. We formed a group back then called GAP, the three of us. As time went on and we left the school, we went out different directions.
We from Bedstuy, Brooklyn originally, so me and Sid always lived around the corner from each other. Mutual friends always used to tell us we looked like twins. We had never met 'til high school, so it was really ironic and freaky, you know? One day, we was on the A train and we see each other, across from each other. From then 'til now, we just been doing it as Duo Live.
We have 215,000 units sold independently in the streets from New York to Miami. We made history on the independent level, on the grind. We just make dope music man. We make real hip-hop music. It's got a Caribbean influence, so we call it Rasta Rap.
We got a new album, The Color Of Money, it's our first commercial release. We're real proud of it. We think it's our defining work to date.
BallerStatus.com: How about the group's name, Duo Live? Where did that come from?
Sid: Fre and I are a duo and we played off the slogan of our neighborhood. We first called ourselves Duo Die coming from Beystuy, but in 2000, we let go of the negative energy. We let go of the Die, because we trying to Live out here. That's where we at right now.
BallerStatus.com: You describe your guys' style as Rasta Rap. What is Rasta Rap exactly?
Fre: We feel like, in terms of what we're bringing to the game and the impact we're gonna have on hip-hop, we're the Bob Marley & The Wailers of this sh--. We're not gonna re-invent the wheel... because when Bob Marley came, he didn't re-invent reggae music, he just brought it to another level internationally where it became recognized for its true nature, the roots of it. What Duo Live brings is we street artists, so we're connected intimately with the ghettos across the world and our music represents that. At the same time, it's rhythm and poetry. That's what rap music originally was. I always thought of rap as an acronym for rhythm and poetry. That's what Duo Live brings -- just quality music. This is the voice of the people and the code of the streets we pass through the microphone. Sid's rhythm is the pulse of the people, its heartbeats... of the people. The combination of the two, it's revolutionary. It can do anything -- heal nations and destroy or whatever we choose for it to do. We choose to bring it to the people to education them and give them insight as to what's needed in our community. Solutions, not just questions. Rappers always come with questions like what would happen if I did this, or if I ruled the world. Not to knock nobody, but I'm just saying, "Let me explain some things to you." There's a lot of solutions out here for our people that people aren't offering through the media and that's what Duo Live is trying to bring.
BallerStatus.com: You mentioned that Duo Live has sold more than 215,000 units independently, so obviously the fans are responding to the music. Do you feel the uniqueness of your music gives you an advantage over other rappers?
Sid: We have an advantage because few have laid a foundation in the streets like we have, as far as just selling the music in the streets. We've sold around 215,000, so that means we've reached around 2 million or so people with our music. People recognize that and might be like, "Oh, that's one of the guys who approached me at one time." Once people see you were out there laying the groundwork and having the do-it-yourself mentality, people tend to support that.
Fre: We got a sleeper fan base, like a dormant fan base, but they not truly dormant. Duo Live just hasn't been introduced to the world yet. Once we're introduced to the world, that dormant fan base is gonna awaken and it's gonna be some sh--.
BallerStatus.com: Well, 215,000 units is a huge accomplishment. With the right push, commercially, you guys could definitely be a force.
Fre: Yea, I think it's redemption time. A lot of people are gonna be shocked with the QUALITY of the music we're bringing more than anything. Seeing us in the streets and hearing a record like "Princess" with Fabolous, seems like it could compete with whatever the hot single at the time is. When you hear the records of this caliber, a lot of people are gonna be shocked.
BallerStatus.com: Speak a little on the album, The Color Of Money.
Fre: If you ever saw the movie, the old school movie with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman, it was about an older hustler that was teaching a young hustler the ropes. At the end of the day, the young hustler soon turned out to be a better hustler than, of course, the older hustler that ended up hustling him. What's interesting about the movie is that he whole movie is just about relationships, people to people relationships, and knowing how to deal with people to get your hustle and transplant your hustle. And when to be humble enough to "take a dive," or picking and choosing your battles to win the war.
I think that Duo Live, we're a combination of both. We're both. We've been in the game long enough to be the old hustlers, and I'm trying -- as an old hustler, as an O.G. in this game -- to show these younger people in the streets how to do this. At the same time, since we're being introduced to the world, we're the young hustler that's trying to take on the old hustlers. So, it's an interesting dynamic because we're like Tom Cruise and Paul Newman at the same time. That's the whole concept.
The number one religion in the world is capitalism. It's Christianity and it's not Islam. With that being said, and understanding that "money rules the world," Duo Live designed an album designed for anybody who is trying to get money, who has got money, who doesn't have money, who knows the importance of money or might not understand the importance of money. The world is our oyster and our ear for this particular album.
The Color Of Money is a socio-economic synopsis of what's going on in the black communities across the world. With that being said, listen to the album, it's got a lot of colors. It's gonna make you sad sometimes. It's gonna make you really happy. It's gonna make you wanna dance. It might make you wanna fight. It's a very powerful piece. We don't promote sex, drugs and violence, but we are some real dudes. So, we enjoy our life, we love our women and we have fun everyday in our lives and it comes across in our music. The music is not preachy at all, so it is what it is. We offer solutions, instead of posing questions.
Duo Live been on that BallerStatus. We been ballin'. They seen us in the clubs.
Sid: We like are the Alpo and Rich Porter of the independent CD hustle game.
Editorials & Columns Hustle Harder: Travel Arrangements Recently I traveled down to Washington D.C. to participate in an event called the "Million DJ March," and I realized ... full story
Digg It
Del.icio.us
